I like duos and trios but more than that starts to feel a bit overkill and often runs into the problem of trying to cater toward more skin tones but then not really catering toward any particular one. But you know, if they’re good? They’re still nice overall.
— Christine
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I’m really not a big cheek palette person, as most of my cheek products are singles. However, I do own 4, I think? And one duo that actually was part of a MAC holiday collection. Other than the beauty that Nars put out this season, I normally don’t get that excited over cheek palettes, holiday or not. Mostly because they almost always run too light for my medium bordering on med-tan olive undertones self.
That new NARS cheek palette is teasing me, but other than that, I’m not really into them at holiday time or any other time. I think the NARS palette, gorgeous as it is, will be a successful resist.
I love duos and trios too! Any bigger and I worry about cracking them when traveling. My pet peeve would be that during the holiday season, brands tend to add more metallic or frosty finishes that I don’t want.
RANTS: It seems a lot of brands just put together a few of their most popular items, instead of coming up with something new. (Actually, that can be good or bad.) The quality is often subpar when compared to their permanent counterparts. Then there’s the usual problems with cheek palettes: The shades tend to be geared to people with medium skin tones, the bronzers run too orange, etc.
RAVES: They can be a good value. The packaging is always fun to see. I love super-shimmery or even lightly glittery highlighters (no chunky glitter, please), which are perfect for holiday collections.
My Nars Hot Tryst arrived today. This is the biggest cheek palette, in terms of pan number, I have ever purchased. Will let you know.. ?. Typically do not care for blush palettes esp those containing powder and cream formulas.. ewww
I use to think that I loved cheek palettes and purchased several before realizing that they are not all that easy to work with, are not travel friendly and almost always contain shades that are not going to work for my fair skin tone but also are not my preference. I have’t pulled on of my palettes out to use in quite a while. When packing for my trip I consciously made the decision to take the smallest blushes I had and since that turned out to be the Ciate Glow to Illuminate, I didn’t end up taking any highlighters with me at all.
Having said all that, I admit to wanting the Nars palette, pretty badly. I think I can resist the temptation simply because I know the shades are so pigmented that I would have to work each time I used them to make sure I don’t look like a circus clown, but it is beautiful!!
Ciate Glow to Illuminate are one of my best buys! And yes, I don’t need a highlighter either when using them. Re: Nars Tryst I had the same concerns when I swatched the shades in a Sephora store.
There is an upcoming Nars palette (Nars Exposed) but I think that two of the shades might be a bit too pigmented for my skin if I rely on the Instagram pictures, but I love the peachy shades in it. We’ll see 🙂
I like the holiday cheeks palettes from some brands, like the MAC Nutcracker Face Compact in Sweet Peach released in 2016 and the Hourglass Edit palettes, although the latter are crazy expensive. I’m still debating with myself about the Hourglass Edit no. 4 as the colors and the finish suit my preferences (not too shimmery/glittery).
As you said Christine, there is a risk with wanting to cater to a larger audience as some shades can require a very light hand for those with fair-light skin, whereas other shades don’t show up on darker skin. As much as I liked the NARS Tryst palette, three of the shades were a bit too dark for my fair skin and I also found the finish too intense for my taste. The blush palette from Clinique is an excellent deal (three full-sized blushes), but oddly enough only the middle one shows on my fair-light skin (Black Honey ), the other two being almost invisible (my cheeks are slightly pink since I was a kid and their natural pinkish color comes through eventually through foundation/CC Cream).
I returned a Benefit multi cheek palette after two weeks a couple of years back. 3rd return ever. It was too light for my coloring (similar to J Lo). I got a Nar’s blush palette and eventually gave it away after over a year of sitting idle. My younger cousin freaked out! Usually, to me at least, I reach for just some key blushes. NARS Sin AMC Oasis are the only ones where pan is peaking through for a blush, and Casino is my go to construe after Charlotte Tilsbury Bronze and Glow.
But the recent Hourglass palette is a winner. Believe makeup companies would do belle to follow the customized approach. I loved when predesigned palettes were more exclusive. Now, I have drawers I am trying to find my most favorite peeps to offload tO.
I’ve had the NARS palette for a few days. I’ve been using the ND diamond and blush palette almost exclusively for a few months, I wish they would introduce a couple more color variations of those!
I find the NARS a bit of a disappointment. While the packaging is cool, it is smaller than I expected. I would like some to create a smaller palette of only cream blush shades including a highlighter as I prefer them in the winter months!
Rant: Quite often they contain shades that I simply would not use and the finishes can be too shimmery/sparkly for me.
Rave: If you get a good duo in your shades, they can be fabulous.
This is only my second high end makeup holiday season that I’ve been a part of and so far I can say I’m actually a bigger fan of the face / cheek palette selection this year than the eyeshadow palettes. I am a sucker for a good deal, so if I can try a few different shades from a high end brand for a fraction of the price (compared to if I bought them individually), I’m here for it. I like the packaging of the new NARS palette, but the shades won’t work for me. The last one I plan on picking up this season is the new MAC face palette when it launches 10/18. It’s funny that I’ve already had my fill of holiday makeup and it’s only the middle of October! Now I can forcus on everyone else, lol.